unclouded wrote:
cbmeeks wrote:
Nowadays, I see Java developers (and JavaScript) release *GIGANTIC* modules simply because "we all have broadband and 16GB of RAM". It's pathetic.
To be fair, developer time is more expensive than machine time, so it's a commercial decision.
...that costs the end user in consumed bandwidth and time waiting for an elephantine Java app or JavaScript-laden web page to download and render. If a page takes more than 10 seconds to load and render I usually move on. My time is
very valuable to me.
GARTHWILSON wrote:
unclouded wrote:
I love the 6502 but I don't think I'd give up being able to write a piece of code in Ruby to iron out the bugs first before porting it to 6502 assembly.
I try things out interactively in Forth on my 6502 workbench computer. When the concept is proven, I can re-write things in assembly and try again, without having to change any of the software that uses it.
Once in a great while when wrestling with a new concept I will write a program in Thoroughbred Dictionary-IV (a high-powered timesharing form of BASIC designed for heavy business use supporting hundreds or thousands of users) to test my code theories. For example, there were some parts of my
mkfs 65C816 program that I modeled in TB BASIC. Once I have demonstrated that the theory is sound I will write the equivalent in assembly language. However, such cases are rare and most of the time I can visualize the program in assembly language right from the start.
Quote:
I remember many years ago (late 1980's?) when a new technology was introduced that improved memory prices and speed a lot in one step, and immediately Microsoft was saying, "This is great because now we don't have to be as careful and we can get new software out faster," and what happened is that the user never got the benefit. Boot-up times made no net improvement, the "disc full" messages came up just as often, and there were just as many bugs.
I remember that as well, as well as the constant reboots that were necessary because the Microsoft stuff was so unstable (Windows 1.0 and Windows 386 immediately come to mind).
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Today's technology has brought about a lot of conveniences, but I have to say it has not improved the "happiness factor" of life.
My mantra of "New technology isn't the same as good technology." still holds today. On average, things happen no faster in Windows than they did 15 years ago, and memory and disk space consumption has gotten to the point of ridiculousness.